Air control device for a building having air conditioning



Feb. 18, 1958 A. D. COLE 2,823,600

AIR CONTROL DEVICE FOR A BUILDING HAVING AIR CONDITIONING Filed Oct. 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIE:

IN VEN TOR. fl}? THz/Rfl ('04 flTTORNEK' Feb. 18, 1958 A. D; COLE I 2,823,600 AIR CONTROL DEVICE FOR A BUILDING HAVING AIR CONDITIONING Filed Oct. 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fz F-z E IN VEN TOR. flRrm/RB 6704:

iffdF/YE) United States Patent AIR CONTROL DEVICEIFOR A BUILDING HAVING AIR CONDITIONING Arthur D. Cole, St. Paul, Minn.

Application October 11,1955, Serial No. 539,877

Claims. (Cl. 98-116) Thisinve'ntion relates to an air controlling device for a building having air conditioning. It is now the practice in a great many buildings, such as ofiice buildings, to have air conditioning. In one form of air conditioners air from the outside atmosphere is drawn into the 'build ing. Difficulty has been experienced in operating such air conditioners due to the outside movement of air or wind and the pressure caused thereby. It has been'found that where the wind is blowing against one side of a building difiiculty i's experienced in the operation of the devices which draw air in at such a side. There is also a difference in pressure between th'e'upper and lower floors of a building due to the tendency of warm air tense and due to elevator shafts and the movement of elevatorstherein. The upward movement of the warm air tends to produce a lower pressure on the lower floors and a. higher pressure on the upper floors.

It is an object of this invention to provide an air controlling device for air drawn into a building from the outside atmosphere, said device being so constructed that it will operate uniformly regardless of the outside atmosphere or wind and regardless of different pressures of air in diflFerent parts of a building.

It is another object of this invention to provide a comparatively simple device having a portion provided with an opening communicating with the outside atmosphere, said device having a chamber therein from which air is drawn, a vane disposed in said chamber so as to bemoved by said last mentioned air, and a damper for said opening connected to said vane so that movement of said damper will be in proportion to the movement of said vane.

his a further object of this invention to provide such a device as set forth in the preceding paragraph in which said vane is nicely balanced, and one in which said chamber is no't directly connected to the outside'atmosphere.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device 'asset forth in the preceding paragraph save one, in which said damper is movable about an axis disposed substantially along its mid-line so that said damper will have equal areas at each side of said axis and will not'be atfectedin its movement by pressure of Wind.

Itis 'more specifically an object of the invention to providea device adapted to be used in an air conditioning system, the same comprising a casing of substantially parallelepiped form and which may be of a size of a building block so as to be conveniently placed in the Wall of a building, said casing having an opening communicating'with the outside atmosphere, one or more dampers controlling the movement of air from said atmosphere through said opening, said casing having a chamber thereinfr'om which air is withdrawn, as by a fan, disposed in said'building, a vane disposed in said chamber so as to be moved by :said air, and means connecting said vane to said damper or dampers so that movement of said dampers is proportional 'to the' movement of said vane.

These and other objects and advantagesjof the invention will be 'fully set ifor'th in the following description 2,823,600 v Paztented Feb. 18,1958

2 made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. l is a view showing a portion of the wall of a. building having therein the device of this invention, said view being in front elevation; a

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectiontaken on line 22 of Fig. l, as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section taken on line 3-'3 of Fig. 1, as indicated by the arrows;

'Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 55 of Fig. 1, Figs. 4 and 5 being taken as indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 6 is a partial view in side elevation ofthe damper supports.

Referring to the drawings, a device is shown comprising a casing 10. While this casing might be variously formed, it preferably and in the embodiment of the invention illustrated is shown of general parallelepiped form. Said casing may be made so as to be set into the wall of a building as illustrated, and it may be of a size similar to the size of building blocks used so that it can occupy the place of a block. Saidcasing has awall 10a largely cut away to form an opening 10b which communica-tes with the outside atmosphere. One or more members or dampers 11 are shown which are swingable about pivots 12. While pivots 12 could be variously supported, in practice they are disposed in and oscillatable in openings 1'0c2 formed in portions 1001 projecting from walls and 1'0e of casing 10. While pivots 12 could take various forms, in practice it has been found suitable to have the same extending from and integral with the dampers 11. Openings 1002 have been made of sector-shape with the apex directed downwardly so that the plate-like pivots 12 rest in said apex. The oscillating movement of pivots 12 is thus somewhat limited. Casing 10'has therein a chamber 10 which is as shown substantially rectangular in vertical and horizontal cross section. One side 10 1 of said chamber however is formed on a curve, as shown in Fig. 4. A vane 17 is disposed in chamber 10f and is swingable about'the axis of a pivot 18 secured to one end of said vane and which is oscillatable in bearings in the sidewalls of chamber 10 Said pivot member 18 in the embodiment of the invention disclosed is circular in cross section. Chamber 10 has an opening 10 2 atits rear-side adjacent the top thereof, as shown in Fig. 4. Asshown, this opening "is between the top Wall 1013 and thetop of member 10 1, which latter'has short inwardly extending flanges thereon at its upper and lower ends. Said opening '10f2-com-' munica-tes with the atmosphere in'the'building. Chamber 10 also has anopening 10 4 in one end thereof of the r form shown in Fig. 4. Opening --10f4'is formed inthe wall 10c and opens into anotherchamber -1Qg in casing 10. Wall 10c separates-chambers '10) and'lOg. Dampers 11-control a-movement-of air 'from the outside-atmosphereinto chamber-"10g. Pivot 1 8 has secured thereto a counterweight 20 which is-shown as ofcylindrical form and has an axial bore therein which receives the i end of pivot 18 which is bent substantially-at a'right angle to enter'said bore. Pivot 18 also has secured thereto between counterweight 20'and 'one'side wall of chamber 10 a partial pulley '21 havinga periphery of V -shaped form in cross section. While member '21 couldbe vari" ously formed, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated it is shown as made from a pair of substantially semi-circular plates 21a-having their flat sides alined and in con-tact and being secured together in any suitable manner, as by spot welding. Said plates are bent-intodiverging relation,::as fshown in Fig. 1, toiform thezvjshaped periphery. FA :flexible member illustrated a small chain 22 has one end secured adjacent one end of said periphery of pulley 21, the same extending around said periphery and having at its other end a small weight 24 Weight 24 is made up of a plurality of washers, prererably made of lead. Washers can thus be added or removed to properly adjust the movement of vane 17. Weight 24 acts by gravity to turn pulley 21 and vane 17. Vane 17 is limited in its upward movement by the upper flange on wall portion 1 and is limited in its downward movement by the lower flange of wall portion 10 11. Vane 17 is connected to the dampers 11 and for this purpose an arm is secured to pivot 18 of vane 17 and a link 26 is connected at one end to arm 18 and at its other end to a lug 11a of one damper 11. Link 26 is shown as made of a small rod or wire and the same has its ends bent to extend through holes in arm 25 and lug 11a so that it is pivotally connected to said members. Eachdamper 11 has secured thereto and projecting inwardly therefrom adjacent their pivots, an arm 28. A link 29 is pivotally connected at its ends to the ends of arms 28.

It will be noted that there are vertical plate portions 101' at the front and rear of the bottom of chamber 10g. A pan is thus formed and one or more holes 101' are provided so that any rain or moisture entering chamber 10g can drain to the outside. See Fig. 2.

The air conditioning apparatus with which the invention is used comprises a fan 30 carried on a shaft 31 which may form the driving shaft of a motor 32 secured in a frame 34. Frame 34 is secured at its outer ends to a cylindrical member 35 which has a tapered portion 35a and a reduced rectangular portion 35b which may extend into the end of chamber 10g and be secured by screws 35c.- The showing of fan 30 and motor 32 is merely illustrative. It was considered best to show the fan so as to better understand the operation of the device. In practice the fan would probably be of different construction and in a different location.

As stated, chambers 10] and 10g are disposed side by side and have the wall 100 therebetween. Said fan 30 communicates directly with said chamber 10g. The air used in the air conditioning is drawn past the dampers 11 in opening 10b and into the building. The operation of said fan in withdrawing air from chamber 10g also withdraws air from chamber 10 below the vane 17 through the opening 10 4 and this lowers the air pressure below said vane. Atmospheric air pressure above said vane will be maintained through opening 10 2, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 4. Thus the current of air moving into chamber 10 through opening 10 2 causes pressure on the vane 17 to be greater than the pressure below it creating a pressure differential between the sides of said vane and said vane is moved downwardly. The movement of vane 17 will be in accord ance with the movement of air through chamber 10g. There will be no tendency to open dampers or doors 11 when the fan 30 is at rest. Vane 17 swings downwardly and oscillates pivot 18 and thus arm 25. Arm 25 pulls upon link 26 and the upper damper 11 is swung to open position. Due to the connection between dampers 11 formed by arms 28 and link 29, dampers 11 are swung simultaneously and through the same angle. The movement of vane 17 therefore regulates the position of dampers 11. As the vane 17 swings according to the volume of air drawn through chamber 10g, the opening of dampers 11 is also proportional to the volume of air drawn therethrough and said dampers swing in proportion to the movement of vane 17. Vane 17 cannot be affected by the wind or the outside pressure of the atmosphere. Vane 17 is nicely balanced by weight 24 and said vane can be adjusted to suit conditions on each floor of the building in which it is used. It will be noted that the area of dampers 11 is the same at one side of pivot 12 as at the other so that these dampers will not be moved or blown shut ..or otherwise affected by wind pressure at that side of the building. It will thus be seen that the device will operate uniformly and as desired, regardless of the outside wind or pressure of the atmosphere, and regardless of variations in air pressure on different floors of the building. With no movement of air through chamber 10g and with air pressure above and below said vane being equalized, the weight 24 will move vane 17 to its upper position against the upper flange on wall ltlfl and thus said vane will move dampers 11 to closed position. The downward movement of vane 17 is limited by the lower flange on wall 10 1. The vane 17 is nicely balanced by the counter-weight 20 so that said vane is quite sensitive to air pressure. With air pressure above and below said vane beingequalized, said vane will be adapted to be in its uppermost position. It will be noted that chamber 10 in which vane 17 is located and moved is not in communication with the outside atmosphere. Vane 17 therefore is not affected by the variations in air pressure and the pull necessary to move vane 17 remains constant.

From the above description it will be seen that I have produced a simple and etficient regulator for the air drawn into a building for ventilating or air conditioning purposes. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be very successful and efficient.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: j

1. An air control device for a building having in combination, a casing having a chamber therein, said chamber having a Wall with an opening therethrough connecting said chamber with the outside atmosphere, said chamber having an opening at one side thereof connecting the same with the inside of said building, said casing having a second chamber therein, said casing having a wall between said chambers having an opening therein through which said chambers are in communication, a damper in said first mentioned opening normally in closed position, pivot means for mounting said damper in said first mentioned opening so as not to be affected by wind outside of the building, said second chamber having a vertical wall at one side thereof, a plate-like vane in said second chamber, pivot means secured to said vertical wall 3 of said second chamber for mounting said vane for swinging movement in said second chamber, said third mentioned opening being disposed at one side of said vane, said second chamber having a second wall with an opening therein connecting said second chamber with the inside of said building, said last mentioned opening being at the opposite side of said vane from said third mentioned opening, means connecting said vane to said damper so that movement of said vane causes a corre-' sponding movement of said damper, said vane having a large area relative to the cross-sectional area of said second chamber taken on a plane perpendicular to said vertical Wall so that it will be moved by lowering the air pressure at one side thereof, and means in said build ing for causing movement of air from said second mentioned chamber through said third mentioned opening into said first mentioned chamber, and through said second mentioned opening into said building, said movement of air causing a lowering of air pressure at the side of said vane at which said third opening is located, thus causing movement of said vane so that said first mentioned means will open said damper and air can then move past said damper into said first mentioned chamber and through said second mentioned opening to the inside of said building.

2. The structure set forthinclaim 1, said casing being 1 in the form of a parallelepiped and having rectangular sides and of a size to fit in a wall in place of a regular building block.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1, a pulley member connected to said vane, a flexible member secured to said pulley and extending around the same and depending therefrom, and a weight attached to the other end of said flexible member for returning said vane to normal position.

4. An air control device for a building having in combination, a casing having a chamber therein, said chamber having a wall with an opening therethrough connecting said chamber with the outside atmosphere, said chamber having an opening at one side thereof connecting the same with the inside of said building, said casing having a second chamber therein, said casing having a wall between said chambers having an opening therein through which said chambers are in communication, a damper in said first mentioned opening, said damper being pivotally mounted on said first mentioned wall to swing about an axis extending centrally and transversely of said damper, a plate-like vane in said second chamber, said second chamber having a vertical wall at one side thereof, pivot means secured to said vertical wall for mounting said vane for swinging movement in said second chamber, said third mentioned opening being disposed at one side of said vane, said second chamber having a second wall with an opening therein connecting said second chamber with the inside of said building, said last mentioned opening being at the opposite side of said vane from said third mentioned opening, said vane having a large area relative to the cross sectional area of said second chamber taken on a plane perpendicular to said vertical wall so that it will be moved by lowering the air pressure at one side thereof, means connecting said vane to said damper so that movement of said vane causes a corresponding movement of said damper, and a fan in said building for causing movement of air from said second mentioned chamber through said third mentioned opening into said first mentioned chamber and through said second mentioned opening into said building, said movement of air causing a lowering of pressure at the side of said vane at which said third opening is located, thus causing movement of said vane so that said first mentioned means will open said damper and air can then move past said damper into said first mentioned chamber and through said second mentioned opening to the inside of said building.

5. An air control device for a building having in combination, a casing having a chamber therein, said chamber having a wall with an opening therethrough connecting said chamber with the outside atmosphere, said chamber having an opening at one side thereof connecting the same with the inside of said building, said casing having a second chamber therein, said casing having a wall between said chambers having an opening therein through which said chambers are in communication, a damper in said first mentioned opening, pivot means for mounting said damper in said first mentioned opening so as not to be aifected by wind outside of the building, said second chamber having a vertical wall at one side thereof, a plate-like vane in said second chamber, pivot means secured to said vertical wall of said second chamber for mounting said vane for swinging movement in said second chamber, said vane being disposed at one side of said third mentioned opening, said second chamber having a second wall with an opening therein connecting said second chamber with the inside of said building, said last mentioned opening being at the opposite side of said vane from said third mentioned opening, means connecting said vane to said damper so that movement of said vane causes a corresponding movement of said damper, said second chamber having vertical walls at each side of said vane and having a curved plate at the free end of said vane, the sides of said vane being disposed closely adjacent said vertical walls and the free end of said vane being closely adjacent the concave side of said plate so that said vane will be moved by a lowering of pressure at the side at which said third mentioned opening is located, and means in said building for causing movement of air from said second mentioned chamber through said third mentioned opening into said first mentioned chamber and through said second mentioned opening into said building, said movement of air causing a lowering of pressure at the side of said vane at which said third opening is located, thus causing movement of said vane so that said first mentioned means will move said damper and air can then move past said damper into said first mentioned chamber and through said second mentioned opening to the inside of said building.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,514,028 Anschutz Nov. 4, 1924 2,164,607 Cole July 4, 1939 2,259,130 Field Oct. 14, 1941 

